Second Environmental Performance Review of Albania

46 Part I: Policymaking, planning and implementationMost of the NGOs’ achievements or their impactremain unclear and their financial situation is notvery transparent. Efforts to launch a code of ethicsfor NGOs have not materialised yet. Only a limitednumber of NGOs publish annual reports and aretransparent about their financial situation, and thefew available websites of NGOs are not regularlyupdated and do not contain this information. Effortsare made through projects to build capacities at NGOlevel. In this context, TACSO (Technical Assistancefor Civil Society Organizations) Albania, with EUsupport, is organizing capacity-building courses forNGOs covering, e.g. media-related issues,cooperation between NGOs and local government,legal and financial issues, taxation issues). Capacitybuildingmanuals for NGOs have also beendeveloped by TACSO and REC with internationalsupport (from EU, World Bank and the Netherlands).Cooperation between major environmental NGOsand MoEFWA has gradually developed on the basisof memoranda of cooperation. In June 2002, aMemorandum of Cooperation was signed betweenthe former Ministry of Environment and most activeenvironmental NGOs (42 NGOs at the time). In2011, a new Memorandum of Understanding wasprepared by MoEFWA to be concluded with theNGO Ecolëvizja and is now in the process ofsignature. Ekolëvizja is a network of 37environmental NGOs with different profiles,covering the whole territory of Albania. The Ministryis currently drafting memoranda of cooperation to beconcluded with other relevant environmentalorganizations.Access to justiceArticle 81 of the Law on Environmental Protectionguarantees individuals and organizations the right tobring cases before a court of law. More specifically,“In case of a threat to, or damage or pollution of theenvironment, individuals, the general public and nonprofitorganizations are entitled to: (a) the right to makean administrative complaint, (b) start legal proceedingsin a court of law”.In reality, there is still a low level of public access tojustice on environmental matters in Albania. Forinstance, the national report on compliance with theAarhus Convention shows a lower level ofimplementation of the third pillar compared with theother two. In practice, there are very few cases ofNGOs having initiated administrative proceedings oraddressed the People’s Advocate 5 or a court of lawon an environment-related issue.In 2007, two environmental network organizations,Ekolëvizja and Në emër të jetës (In the Name ofLife), lodged an administrative complaint against theharmful effects of the illegal burning of urban wasteat the waste disposal field in Sharrë, Tirana.Following the provisions of the 2003 Law on theEnvironmental Administration of Solid Waste, No.9010, EI issued a decision imposing a fine of1,000,000 lek (approximately €8,000) on theperpetrator.The People’s Advocate recorded 35-40 environmentrelatedreviews or appeals lodged between 2000 and2005. The applications covered issues related to thehigh impact on communities of water pollution,emission of gases into the air, noise, electromagneticpollution, etc. Cases included those concerningpollution caused by the cement factory in Fushë-Krujë, arsenic residues in Fier, and the urban wasteprocessing plant in Shëngjin. In 2008, only three ofnine environment-related complaints fell under thecompetence of the People’s Advocate and wereresolved in favour of the claimants.Only one case was brought before a court of law in2004. The legal action was taken by the Society forOrganic Farming against the Ministry of Agriculture,Food and Consumer Protection, the Ministry ofEnvironment, Forests and Water Administration andthe International Fertilizer Development Center(IFDC) programme and concerned the introduction ofgenetically modified products as animal fodder. Thecourt proceedings were stopped on 15 September2004 on the grounds of the unclear legal status ofIFDC in Albania.There were also cases brought to the ComplianceCommittee of the Aarhus Convention, for examplethe case related to the construction of a power stationin the city of Vlora in Southern Albania. Aleanca eVlorës (Vlora Alliance), an environmental movementbringing together a considerable number of AlbanianNGOs, lodged a complaint against the decision of theAlbanian Government (2002-2003) to build a powerstation in the Bay of Vlora and to use 550 ha of landas a site for a new energy and industrial park.According to the Vlora Alliance, the decision-making5 The People’s Advocate Institution safeguards the rights,freedoms and lawful interests of individuals from unlawfulor improper actions or failures to act of publicadministration bodies and the third parties acting on theirbehalf. Its duty is to prevent conflicts between the publicadministration and the individual.